Baseline on-site information on coastal recreational fishery and comparison with competitive events in Ilhéus, southern Bahia, Brazil

This study analyzed the profile of recreational fishers on-site in Ilhéus, northeastern Brazil, their fishing habits, and catch composition. Interviews were conducted along the coast of Ilhéus from December 2006 to December 2008 with all fishers encountered and their catch identified and measured. A total of 227 fishers were interviewed in 23 days. Most of the interviewees were men (93.4%), residing in Ilhéus (84.9%). They preferred fishing in the morning, weekends, and summer. Shrimp was the main bait used. Fishers were generalists, but most of the catch included Polydactylus virginicus, Ariidae, and Menticirrhus littoralis. Catches observed during the interviews allowed to estimate an annual catch of 1.4 t. A proportion of 88% of fishers practiced catch-and-release, mainly small fishes. Only 10.0% of them carried license for recreational fishing and about 5.3% were members of fishing clubs. This provides a unique opportunity to compare our results with those from another study conducted in the same locality during the same period with members of fishing clubs. These fishers used very small hooks during competitive events, which resulted in the capture of smaller fishes than was reported here on-site. This study sets a baseline to analyze temporal changes in fishing habits and catch.